Book Review: The Small Giant: Sweden Enters the Industrial Era by Carl G. Gustavson

Carl G . Gustavson. T H E S M A L L GIANT: SWEDEN ENTERS T H E
INDUSTRIAL ERA. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1986.
364 pp., xi, index.
During the latter part of the nineteenth and the beginning of the
twentieth centuries Sweden underwent a dramatic economic and
social transformation. One part of this process was the mass
emigration to North America, through which roughly one-fourth of
the population left the country. Another important element in this
transformation was the industrialization of the nation. During the
course of several generations the economic foundations were laid
for contemporary Sweden, with its highly developed industry,
extensive social welfare state, and very high standard of living. Carl
Gustavson's T h e S m a l l G i a n t : S w e d e n E n t e r s t h e I n d u s t r i a l E r a
provides an overview of this process and, as the author puts it in
his preface, attempts to " t e l l the story of Swedish industrialization
as a coherent whole."
The book falls into three major parts: "Preparation," "Break­through,"
and "Toward an Industrial Sweden," as the author
chronologically depicts the course of the country's process of
industrialization. In the first part the author sets the stage for the
development and transformation of the traditional branches of
Swedish industry, such as iron ore, beginning the story around the
year 1800 and discussing among other things the technological
innovations that made the Swedish industrial breakthrough possi­ble.
Included here is also an account of the creation of improved
transportation facilities, such as the construction of canals and the
building of the Swedish railroads.
The industrial breakthrough is traditionally assigned to the
decades after 1870, and by 1914 Sweden can be characterized as an
advanced industrial society. This breakthrough followed the suc­cess
of political liberalism in the 1840s, which among other things
resulted in the abolition of the guilds in 1846 and the parliamentary
reforms of 1866. In the two last sections of the book, Gustavson
traces the growth of modern Swedish industrial society, primarily
through the development of large scale manufacturing industries.
In this process a number of today's very familiar Swedish
industries emerged, such as the L. M . Ericson Telephone Company,
Alfred Nobel's Bofors Armament Factory, and ASEA, manufacturer
of products for the generating of electrical power and now
occupying a leading position internationally in this field. Places
150
such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Eskilstuna (the latter some­times
called "the Sheffield of Sweden") became important indus­trial
cities.
In addition, this period saw the opening up of Norrland, as the
iron ore in the extreme North began to be mined and LKAB
(Luossavarra-Kirunavaara AB) was formed. Other important
resources of the North were the vast forests, which resulted in a
highly profitable timber industry that developed in the cities along
the northern Baltic coast.
The author's focus is almost exclusively on the development of
different companies and the achievements of various individuals,
such as inventors and company executives. This approach does
provide interesting information, at many points for the first time in
English, about various persons and companies that have played
important roles in the process of the industrialization of Sweden. It
also results, however, in some problems. Most significantly, the role
of working men and women is, apart from some cursory remarks,
left out i n this story of Sweden's in many ways remarkable
transformation from a poor country on the periphery of Europe to
one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Names such as August
Palm, the founder of the Swedish Labor movement, and Hjalmar
Branting, the first Social Democratic member of parliament and
prime minister, are conspicuously absent from the voluminous
"Register of Persons." In this way, Sweden's development into a
modern industrial country is sometimes reduced to a cavalcade of
individuals, operating outside a larger societal context. Moreover,
the significant and, some would argue, typically Swedish interplay
between capital, labor, and the state in creating a modern society
remains outside of the discussion.
Given these limitations, T h e Small Giant is a useful book, in that it
summarizes for the first time in English a significant body of the
Swedish-language literature about Sweden's industrialization in a
coherent fashion. It can thus be used as a complement to the
standard texts in the field such as Franklin Scott's S w e d e n : T h e
N a t i o n ' s History or Eli F. Heckscher's A n Economic History of S w e d e n .
DAG BLANCK
S w e n s o n Swedish Immigration Research Center
A u g u s t a n a College
151

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Carl G . Gustavson. T H E S M A L L GIANT: SWEDEN ENTERS T H E
INDUSTRIAL ERA. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1986.
364 pp., xi, index.
During the latter part of the nineteenth and the beginning of the
twentieth centuries Sweden underwent a dramatic economic and
social transformation. One part of this process was the mass
emigration to North America, through which roughly one-fourth of
the population left the country. Another important element in this
transformation was the industrialization of the nation. During the
course of several generations the economic foundations were laid
for contemporary Sweden, with its highly developed industry,
extensive social welfare state, and very high standard of living. Carl
Gustavson's T h e S m a l l G i a n t : S w e d e n E n t e r s t h e I n d u s t r i a l E r a
provides an overview of this process and, as the author puts it in
his preface, attempts to " t e l l the story of Swedish industrialization
as a coherent whole."
The book falls into three major parts: "Preparation," "Break­through,"
and "Toward an Industrial Sweden," as the author
chronologically depicts the course of the country's process of
industrialization. In the first part the author sets the stage for the
development and transformation of the traditional branches of
Swedish industry, such as iron ore, beginning the story around the
year 1800 and discussing among other things the technological
innovations that made the Swedish industrial breakthrough possi­ble.
Included here is also an account of the creation of improved
transportation facilities, such as the construction of canals and the
building of the Swedish railroads.
The industrial breakthrough is traditionally assigned to the
decades after 1870, and by 1914 Sweden can be characterized as an
advanced industrial society. This breakthrough followed the suc­cess
of political liberalism in the 1840s, which among other things
resulted in the abolition of the guilds in 1846 and the parliamentary
reforms of 1866. In the two last sections of the book, Gustavson
traces the growth of modern Swedish industrial society, primarily
through the development of large scale manufacturing industries.
In this process a number of today's very familiar Swedish
industries emerged, such as the L. M . Ericson Telephone Company,
Alfred Nobel's Bofors Armament Factory, and ASEA, manufacturer
of products for the generating of electrical power and now
occupying a leading position internationally in this field. Places
150
such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Eskilstuna (the latter some­times
called "the Sheffield of Sweden") became important indus­trial
cities.
In addition, this period saw the opening up of Norrland, as the
iron ore in the extreme North began to be mined and LKAB
(Luossavarra-Kirunavaara AB) was formed. Other important
resources of the North were the vast forests, which resulted in a
highly profitable timber industry that developed in the cities along
the northern Baltic coast.
The author's focus is almost exclusively on the development of
different companies and the achievements of various individuals,
such as inventors and company executives. This approach does
provide interesting information, at many points for the first time in
English, about various persons and companies that have played
important roles in the process of the industrialization of Sweden. It
also results, however, in some problems. Most significantly, the role
of working men and women is, apart from some cursory remarks,
left out i n this story of Sweden's in many ways remarkable
transformation from a poor country on the periphery of Europe to
one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Names such as August
Palm, the founder of the Swedish Labor movement, and Hjalmar
Branting, the first Social Democratic member of parliament and
prime minister, are conspicuously absent from the voluminous
"Register of Persons." In this way, Sweden's development into a
modern industrial country is sometimes reduced to a cavalcade of
individuals, operating outside a larger societal context. Moreover,
the significant and, some would argue, typically Swedish interplay
between capital, labor, and the state in creating a modern society
remains outside of the discussion.
Given these limitations, T h e Small Giant is a useful book, in that it
summarizes for the first time in English a significant body of the
Swedish-language literature about Sweden's industrialization in a
coherent fashion. It can thus be used as a complement to the
standard texts in the field such as Franklin Scott's S w e d e n : T h e
N a t i o n ' s History or Eli F. Heckscher's A n Economic History of S w e d e n .
DAG BLANCK
S w e n s o n Swedish Immigration Research Center
A u g u s t a n a College
151